September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and an important time to reflect on how that affects U.S. military veterans.

It’s impossible to avoid the somber reality that veterans comprise a disproportionate share of suicide cases, because of many traumatic experiences and severe disabilities they suffer. While this a complex topic, requiring attention from many professionals, we’d like to offer our take on how to understand and prevent suicide in the veteran community.

Why Suicide Prevention Support is Essential

Suicide has become a pandemic throughout Western civilization in the past two decades. This affects both the young and elderly, exasperated by many conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death among Americans, across all demographics. It’s become the second most common cause of death for young people (between ages 15 and 34). Young veterans certainly fit into that sorrowful statistic far too often.

Total suicides, among veterans is expected to surpass all post-9/11 combat fatalities by 2030. Therefore, it should be a pressing concern for the military, families of veterans, mental health professionals, and veterans themselves.

Know the Common Warning Signs for Suicide

How can you tell if a veteran (or anyone else) may be vulnerable to suicide? Are there any telltale signs that should prompt an intervention?

• Withdrawal from social circles
• Mood swings
• Heavy use of alcohol and/or drugs
• Aggressive or antisocial behaviors
• Excessive risk-taking
• Other Subtle Behaviors: giving away belongings, calling people to say “goodbye,” random weapon purchases, and so forth

How Veterans Can Obtain Help

As usual, everyone should reinforce the idea that nobody has to handle their trials alone or cope with difficult stressors without help. Any veteran or civilian who is considering suicide can reach out to a myriad of support services such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255).

Here in Sarasota, there’s an affiliate of ours, the SRQ Vets organization, which dedicates some of its outstanding efforts to help struggling veterans as well.

Contact Us Anytime for Disability Claim Services

Finally, for our part, we assist veterans who are struggling to get the disability compensation and support they need. Since disabilities are another contributing factor for suicide, our mission is to mitigate the problem, and help American veterans finally overcome all the red tape with the VA.

Veterans Affairs Law can help you if you’ve suffered a benefits denial or had any other trouble filing claims after leaving the service. There’s no reason to admit defeat and surrender your benefits just because you reach a stumbling block with the VA.

Contact us anytime to learn more about our effective legal advocacy by calling 941-552-6677.